Mönchsberg
by Shahrazad63
Summary: One shot. A brief interlude between Georg and Maria, one week after their engagement, ending in a surprising confession.


**Mönchsberg**

**_A Vignette_**

**_A/N: This is a one shot I published in our fan fiction forum a few days ago, and since people loved it so much, I decided to publish here as well. It takes place one week after the gazebo scene. There are a few references to other stories I wrote - Peggy is an original character from "Treasures", for instance._**

**_Just one little piece of advice - please do not try to do the math trying to find out how old Maria was when Georg was decorated. The timeline is a nightmare, and if you use the one of the movie and still want the historical events in their right dates, it becomes an impossible story. Just enjoy this for what it is and have fun!_**

**_Finally, the usual warning: Still working with no beta and English is not my first language. So, beware of some funny grammar and spelling mistakes. It will all be fixed in the future._**

**_A huge THANK YOU to all my friends at the fan fiction forum, who helped me through my writers block. The result is this story._**

**_Disclaimers: I do not own "The Sound of Music", etc, etc, etc..._**

_**---**_

**_You bound strong sandals on my feet,_**_**  
**_**_You gave me bread and wine,_**_**  
**_**_And bade me out, 'neath sun and stars,_**_**  
**_**_For all the world was mine._****_Oh take the sandals off my feet,_**_**  
**_**_You know not what you do;_**_**  
**_**_For all my world is in your arms,_**_**  
**_**_My sun and stars are you._****_Sara Teasdale_**

_**---**_

**_Trust thou thy Love: if she be proud, is she not sweet?_**_**  
**_**_Trust thou thy Love: if she be mute, is she not pure?_**_**  
**_**_Lay thou thy soul full in her hands, low at her feet;_**_**  
**_**_Fail, Sun and Breath!--yet, for thy peace, She shall endure._****_John Ruskin _**

_**---**_

_**A correct answer is like an affectionate kiss.**__**Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe**_

_**---**_

It was the first time she had a few moments to herself since her life was turned upside down exactly one week ago. The children were playing not far away, and she could hear their voices in the distance. Yes, they were laughing openly and wholeheartedly once more, they were _singing_ together. It was a wonderful sign, even though they were still keeping her still a little distant from their closely knit circle. For the moment, however, she was happy. The children's laughter was more than enough to bring a beaming smile to her lips.

Happy, but also tired.

She was tired because during the day, she was busy with the wedding preparations and with seven children who were still trying to accept the fact that she was going to marry their father, thus becoming not their friend, not their governess, but their _stepmother_.

She was tired because when she was not busy with her wedding, she was not spending time with the man she loved, as she longed to, but she was being both pampered and coached by a group of women, whose leadership was being fiercely disputed between Peggy Schneider and Georg equally formidable aunt, Alicia von Trapp who apparently had opposite views about how a future Baroness should act and what she should do.

Even before their engagement was officially announced, the villa was filled to overflowing with people – Georg´s closest relatives and friends. Each and every one of them took their duties very seriously. Max Detweiler, who was never much of a chaperon when Georg was engaged to Elsa von Schraeder was now bent on protecting Maria's reputation with a zealousness that was nearly comical. Even Peggy, who had practically thrown her straight into Georg´s arms when Maria still had no clue that she loved him, now watched them like a hawk. It was becoming nearly impossible for them to be completely alone for more than a few instants – there would always be someone walking on them, wherever they were, with the most ridiculous excuses.

The women frolicked around her all the time. Their guidance – Frau Schneider's in particular - was proving to be many things. Undoubtedly useful in most aspects, but excruciatingly _embarrassing _in others_._ They saw no problem in interfering with every little aspect of her life that before she saw no reason to share with anyone else. Maria cringed, sometimes she rebelled against their excessive meddlesomeness, but she admitted that they had a point. Some things in her life would change, and she had no clue about how to deal with it! At least she had not been plagued about the very touchy subject of the wedding night yet, although knew it was only a matter of time.

There was much more than that, of course. For the moment, they were still worried about more practical aspects of her upcoming marriage.

Since yesterday, the women had been battling about the matter of her wedding dress. Although Maria had been adamant that she would have the final word about every detail of it, they still argued about the honor of who would be the one who would bring her the perfect pattern. Peggy had brought her the drawing of a dress that was beautiful, fit for a princess, but with so many frills and bows that Maria felt nauseous just to look at it after a few minutes. Aunt Alicia on the other hand, brought a suggestion from her Viennese couturier that was so perfect that she already dreamed about wearing it. However, accepting Aunt Alicia's suggestions would mean hurting Peggy unbearably, and Peggy had become her best friend and mentor…

Oh dear – what would she do?

Only the day before, she had mentioned how troublesome the issue of her wedding dress to Baroness Eberfeld, and the elderly woman had been very sympathetic about her predicament.

"Just do what you will, and don't listen to them. My mother and my aunt did not speak for months after my wedding because of a disagreement about the length of my veil. Ah, my darling, your future husband is the lucky one. His Naval uniform is already there in his closet, waiting for him. Only a few minor arrangements and he will be ready to wait for you at the altar…"

"His _uniform?_" Maria reacted promptly. "He is going to be marrying me in his naval uniform!?"

"Yes, darling, of course he is! It may not be wise, considering Austria's current situation, but there is no soul in the world powerful enough to stop Georg von Trapp from honoring his country whenever he wishes to… not to mention send a very specific message to some people he had no choice but to invite to the wedding."

Politics apart, Maria felt absurdly giddy at the thought. It was something she would never expect to happen, to see her husband in his full naval glory, waiting for her at the altar of the Nonnberg Chapel. But it was going to happen and her heartbeat accelerated just in anticipation of seeing him like that.

So, she went to bed the previous night hoping to dream about her sea captain in his gala uniform, but she did not. Instead, she was plagued by a nightmare, in which she woke up in her convent cell, with the nuns trying to convince her that the days she had spent at the von Trapp villa had been nothing but a dream. Stubbornly, she went to Aigen to find the truth, but Georg had not recognized her. His wife had not died, he somehow he still had his Navy and led a perfectly happy life with his seven children.

She woke up bathed in cold sweat, so relieved that it was all a bad dream that she could scream.

"Fresh air and sunshine, that is all I need," she concluded. Fresh air and sunshine, the perfect balm for everything that had ever ailed her… It never failed her before, it could only do her good now.

Surprisingly, the children agreed to her idea of spending the day in the Mönchsberg. While there, it had been Liesl who, noticing Maria's unusual paleness, suggested that she could take a walk by herself to take a breath, while she watched her younger siblings.

The surroundings could not be more appropriate. She leaned on the railing of the small terrace, which offered what to her was the best view of the Untersberg in all of Salzburg. The mountain she dared to call her own. While in Nonnberg, in the rare occasions she could afford a whole day to herself, it would be where she would run to. However, living the busy life of a postulant, most of the times, she would run to the place she was now – the Mönchsberg, the hill where Nonnberg itself was built, with its myriad of trails and hidden terrace, from where she could see not only the whole city of Salzburg, but the mountains surrounding it. It was more than enough.

The terrace she found herself in right now was so small and secluded that she called her own too, just like the mountain. She had never shared that same space with a single soul before, not even the children.

In a few minutes, it was all about to change.

Maria never knew what made her turn around so quickly, but when she did it was to find her sea captain staring at her, at the end of the narrow path that led to her terrace. She even blinked a few times, as if to make sure it was indeed him. When she left the house, he was in one of his black moods, grumbling behind his morning paper. When she invited him to come along with her and the children to town, he muttered something about having to fix some "decrepit submarine from hell before all of Europe was blown to pieces because of its moronic torpedo controls".

Now he was there, impossibly handsome, impeccably groomed as ever. He removed his hat as soon as he saw her, and his hair was instantly ruffled by a gentle breeze. The wind was soft, so that the disorder it caused did not bother him, but just enough to give him a less stern appearance, reminding her of a side of him she was just beginning to get used to, but already knew would always be reserved for her eyes only.

The sight of him was a healing balm to her senses, and she was suddenly hit by a violent wave of love. For a moment, they merely looked at each other. Then, from a distance, she could tell that his sharp eyes were quickly scanning their surroundings, as if to make sure they were the only souls in that place. Oh, she could almost read his thoughts – he too could not believe their good fortune. The hat fell from his hands – he did not even seem to notice it.

"_We are alone_," she whispered in wonderment.

It was true, even though the children were so close that their voices could be heard. But for the moment, they were protected trees surrounding them, already turning gold with the first signs of fall. No one could see them. The next few moments would be more than precious.

_Two days._

It had been two days since he had last held her. Two days since he had kissed her…

It was odd, because until a week ago, she had lived a lifetime without knowing a man's touch, and now, when she was still so new to it, she craved it so much that she felt tempted to kiss him anyway, in front of all fourteen – according to her last count – chaperons in the house.

The idea that they were _alone_ was the first overwhelming thought that came to her mind – and probably his as well – as they gazed at each other in the distance.

_We are alone…_

It was an irresistible urge she had every time she saw him, but one she had never been able to realize: to jump in his arms freely like that. Her feet moved before her mind could complete the thought. All she remembered was flying towards him. She saw his dark blue eyes first widening in surprise, and next, to her utter relief, his lips broke into a genuine smile of approval.

His arms opened to receive her.

It was all the invitation she needed.

Their bodies clashed with such force that it knocked the breath out of their lungs. She entwined her arms around his neck as he lifted her, swinging her around as she weighted a little more than a feather. He was laughing too, the same joyous sound she remembered hearing after he had heard the children yodeling, but never again since that day.

Finally, he put her down, but kept her close to him.

"I think that means you are happy to see me," he whispered seductively.

"Oh, I am. I missed you!" she exclaimed simply.

"You said good bye to me less than two hours ago," he teased.

"Yes, but I missed _you_," she repeated, tightening her hold on him, allowing herself the newly discovered pleasure of feeling his warm body against hers. It was the best way she could express herself at the moment. Not to know, she was unaware that such simple joys in a woman's life even existed, but now…

"You look tired," she remarked, touching his cheek.

"So do you." He winked at her. "Why is it that, all of a sudden, eloping does not sound like a bad idea at all?"

"What are you doing here?" she asked, inhaling his scent, her head buried against his chest. "You are not supposed to be in Salzburg today. I thought you… ooohhh…"

"Sshhhh – just be still for a moment, will you?"

She felt herself melting as his lips found an extremely sensitive spot at the side of her neck. A secret place inside her turned to liquid heat, and her knees buckled.

"Maria, if you had any idea of what you are doing to me!"

"But I'm not doing anything, I just holding you. _You_ are doing _everything_!"

"If you don't kiss me right now, I…" he whispered, raggedly.

Gladly, she obliged him before he could finish the sentence.

"Well, if that is an order, Captain..."

"It is!"

All she knew about kissing, she was learning from him, although she sensed that there was much more than what he had been showing her. Because in each of the times they had a chance to abandon themselves to each other, he had taken her a small step further. It was just as when she was younger, when she would climb a mountain, higher and higher, daring to go farther and farther towards the summit, wishing she would be carried right through the clouds. Except that Georg´s kisses did not take her to the clouds, but beyond, straight towards heaven. Although restrained, they were teasing enough, tantalizing enough for her to wonder how it would feel like when he took her to the final destination. What unknown passions lay concealed beneath his suave exterior that so soon would be unleashed upon her? How far would he take her after they were married, when they would have every right to be alone?

No, she better not deal with such thoughts now. She had done so in his presence before, and the effect had been… _paralyzing_. He had mistaken her reaction, thinking she had been afraid of him, which could not be farther than the truth. She should just do as she always did, enjoy the moment, the thrill of being held so close to the man she loved, to be held and touched by him. She should not let her bridal worries to disturb their brief interlude.

A kiss – that was all he asked for. And she would give it to him.

Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed his firm lips. She must have learned her lesson well, because the response was an earthy groan coming from the back of his throat. Yielding to temptation, she parted her lips. He immediately complied, moving his lips on hers, exploring her mouth with practiced finesse.

In the back of her mind, she realized he had never actually kissed her quite so deeply before. On the other hand, _she_ had never been so daring before.

_Two days…_

"_Step by step,_" he had promised her once.

_Higher and higher…_

Guided by instinct only, Maria began exploring his mouth, just as he was doing with hers. Enthusiastically, she followed his lead, mirroring his actions while trying to invent a few of her own, moving her lips on his and kissing him back.

He pulled her closer to him than she would have imagined possible and there, against her soft belly, she felt… she felt… Oh dear, she did not feel quite prepared to acknowledge yet what she _thought_ she had felt!

First there was a jolt of pure, unadulterated feminine pleasure that came with the realization that she had been able to use her newfound talent in kissing to entice him to that point. It was not the first time she felt the evidence of his desire for her, but it still came with a small shock.

Her next reaction was completely involuntary - she stiffened just slightly, but he felt it. Immediately, he pulled his mouth away from hers, and she was unable to contain a soft sigh of surrender.

"I am not rushing you again, am I?"

"No." Maria shook her head vehemently. "It is just that I was told not long ago that I should stop acting like a nun if I wasn't going to be one anymore," she sighed. "Sometimes it is not so easy…"

"I know. I think you are doing just fine. I, on the other hand, keep forgetting myself and acting like the lascivious pirate you once believed me to be."

"I never thought of you like that!" she exclaimed, smiling at him.

"Never?"

"No!"

"Not even…"

"Not even then."

He cast a look of disbelief, but when he tried to pull back, stepping away from her, she did not let him. Her arms traveled from his neck down to his waist, and she kept him close to her, just a little longer.

"Don't go," she pleaded.

"Maria…" he pleaded back. "Darling, as much as we miss this and as wonderful as this makes us feel right now, we cannot…"

"I think I know." Reluctantly, she slackened her hold on him, but he did not pull away. "You can't control it, can you?"

"No more than you can." He looked upwards thoughtfully. "I am usually very good at this at sea, but in dry land I'm afraid my skills are appalling!"

She laughed. "If you are talking about _kissing_, or your ability to control yourself, then I will have to say that I do not believe you for a moment."

"The weather," he clarified with a little half smile. "Tell me, Fräulein, do you think it is going to rain?"

Maria looked up, following the direction of his gaze. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. She hardly needed to be an expert to answer his question.

"Not really."

"Too bad, because right now I could really use a cold shower," he chuckled. When she looked at him, puzzled, he pressed her against him again, only lightly, as if to tell her without words exactly why he needed that cold shower.

_Oh dear_!

Could a cold shower help him with _that_?

_How?_

She honestly doubted it, yet she made a mental note to Peggy Schneider about such an intriguing issue. Her face was a confused mixture of puzzlement and disbelief – he answered to it by raising one mocking eyebrow at her.

It was the sound of the children's laughter, reminding them that their privacy was merely an illusion that forced them to pull away from each other, reluctantly.

"Where…" she began breathlessly, meaning to ask him about the children.

"They are waiting for us at the terrace on the other side," he said, nodding towards the path. "I told them we would not take long… I should _not_ have done that," he added with a chuckle. "I should have told them that we would take a very, very long time. Maybe we could make up for the past two days."

Playfully, she nudged his arm, laughing. "So you were counting too!"

"Two days, ten hours and eleven minutes if I remember correctly. Now, my future Baroness, why aren't you wearing one of your new frocks?" he asked casually, pointing to her dress. It was one of the old ones she had made, with the fabric he had given her.

Maria rolled her eyes impatiently – it was one of the little things they occasionally argued about. Ever since the engagement, he had been showering her with little gifts. The main problem was that she was not used to being spoiled in such manner – she did not even remember the last time anyone had given her a present. When she wanted something, she had to count on the little money she made to buy it. If that wasn't enough, all she could do was forget about what she could not have. She could deal just fine with the jewelry that was almost an integral part of a wedding proposal, but when she spoke about giving her an entire new wardrobe, fit for the Baroness she would soon become, she had protested firmly. It had been Peggy, who tactfully convinced her to accept the fact that since she was going to be the wife of a Baron, naturally she could not longer dress like a peasant.

"Oh, they are much too pretty," she said, looking down at her dress. At least today she had a perfectly good reason to dress as she pleased. "I did not want to ruin them."

"You should not worry about things like that anymore."

"Yes, I should. It was then sensitive thing to do when I was specifically commanded by at least three of your children, Captain, to _climb trees_ today." She then lowered her voice and whispered to him in a conspiratorial tone. "I think I am winning them back!"

"You never lost them, darling!" Georg said, touching the tip of her nose.

The first days after Georg had gathered his children together, to tell them that he was going to marry their former governess were not easy ones.

Seven children, seven different reactions, all of them unexpected.

Maria had the feeling that, in a way, she had become _the Baroness_ in their eyes. They withdrew from her, and as much as she could understand every reason why that happened, it still hurt. Slowly, she was gaining their confidence back. It was all very simple to her – they wanted to be close to her again, they did not know how, so she was using something that had worked before: _Music. _And it was working. Now, walking around the Mönchsberg with them was almost like the "old times", while the Captain was away in Vienna and she was left alone with her charges. They laughed, they sang together. She braided the girl's hair and helped them make flower wreaths, while the boys staged a mock swordfight.

She let herself be guided by her fiancée to the spectacular view of the Untersberg she had been admiring just before he arrived.

"Now tell me, Fräulein, how does Salzburg's most beloved mountain compare to your mighty Tyrolean Alps?"

She felt a curious desire to provoke him.

"Oh, I don't think that little pile of rocks you see over there deserves to be called a _mountain,_ Captain," she said, gazing at the Untersberg rather critically.

It was not true, of course. She would die thinking the Unterberg was the most beautiful mountain on earth, she certainly thought so about a little more than a decade later, when they finally returned home to Austria after having lived from as refugees, running from country to country, after the War. The Untersberg had been the first recognizable feature of Salzburg they had seen from a distance, and they knew they were finally back home where they belonged when that happened.

Right now, however, there was an irresistible look of mock offense in his eyes, and she giggled.

"What are you doing in town today?" she asked after a few moments, hooking her arm with his as they walked. "I thought you had work to do at home. A certain decrepit submarine from hell and its moronic torpedoes…"

He scratched his head.

"That infernal piece of worthless metal! I'm almost certain nothing can be done to fix it, but the French Navy refuses to be convinced. Yes, I had plenty of work to do, but then I had a phone call and… I thought I could give myself a well deserved break. He reached for something inside a side pocket of his jacket. "I went to pick up your ring."

"My ring?"

Maria stopped walking, staring up at him.

She had almost forgotten about it, but the truth was that she still found it hard to believe that one of the Trapp family's most beloved heirlooms was actually _hers_ now. The simple, yet elegant ring – a single pearl next to a white diamond – had been place on her finger on the same night after he had asked her to marry him. It was a little too big for her slender fingers, so that for the day or two, she had walked around self consciously, with her hand clenched, in fear she would loose it. He had noticed it, of course, so he took the ring to his jeweler in town, to have it resized for her.

It was still unclear to her why Agathe had never worn the von Trapp ring, which had belonged to three generations of brides before Maria. He had just told her that she had not, and it had been enough to Maria. Now, she could not help but feeling curious about it. It would be just one of many stories yet to be unveiled, stories about that fascinating man and the life he had before she met him. What mattered for the moment was that now the ring was back in her finger again. It was a perfect fit, and he nodded his approval. When she raised her eyes to him, he was gazing at the Untersberg.

"Much better," he murmured, kissing her hand. "Now you don't have to walk in fear you might loose it."

"How did you find us up here?" she asked, admiring the jewel in her finger.

"Frau Schmidt provided me with the latitude, and Franz with the longitude. The rest was easy." He gazed at the landscape once more. "It is funny, but I have been living in Salzburg ever since the war ended, but can count in the fingers of one hand how many times I have been up here."

"Mmmm," she frowned. "If you had been here more often, we would probably have met before. This is where I usually would run to when I wanted to be closer to the mountains, but did not have the time to make the journey all the way to the Untersberg, or to the Salzkammergut… You would have heard me sing, would have seen me running around, maybe climbing a tree or two..."

"Now, _that_ is an intriguing idea," he said pensively, with a little smirk. "No, I don't think I ever heard anyone singing here. I would certainly remember if I had, at least a voice like yours. Although…"

"Although what?" she asked, touching his forehead. "What is this frown about?

"That the last time was a little more than two years ago… exactly one year after I became a widower. I came up here to brood and to find reasons to feel sorry for myself, as it was my habit in those days. I was so consumed by grief, so blinded by everything else but my pain that I think would not have noticed you. Unless, of course, you fell from a tree straight into my arms, like it happened in your first day at the villa (1)," he smiled sadly. "Before that day I was here a few times with the children's mother."

He watched her face intently as he said that, studying her every reaction. Maria had no clue about what he expected to see, what he feared. She only knew that she needed him to speak of her, she wanted to know, but, at the same time, she was afraid to. No, he had not come to her with a clean, unblemished past, but she would not have him any other way. If her story began to be written when he entered her life, the same could not be said about his. The Reverend Mother had warned her, the last time they had met, that she should be strong enough to accept the fact that her future husband had loved another woman before her, and very deeply. Confidently, she had replied that she would have no trouble dealing with that, but lately she was not so sure… especially after Frau Whitehead's parting words, the morning after their engagement, which had none of the Reverend Mother's gentle subtlety.

"Don't delude yourself, my dear. He may love you now, but will _never_ forget her!"

Maybe not, she began to realize sadly. Maybe it would be still quite a few years until he finally let go of Agathe´s memory. Maybe she would have to learn to cope with it, whenever he became distant and withdraw because he was thinking of her, remembering her.

"You would not have noticed me," she said truthfully, feeling a nagging twinge of pain at the thought. "You loved her so fiercely, you would not have eyes for any other woman," she said, with a confidence that, deep inside, she was far from feeling.

He did not deny it. She was not expecting him to.

"You see, that is yet another intriguing idea," he said. "Under any circumstances, I cannot see myself not noticing you in any manner at all! At least I would be – uh – oddly attracted."

"You know you wouldn't, Georg." She ended the sentence with his name – she still felt absurdly shy to use it more often, but whenever she did, she had his full attention. "Not while you were married… not while she was alive…"

He was shaking his head, avoiding her eyes. "You have no idea how torturing this is."

"What is it, darling?"

"I had to loose her so that I could find you. I would never lie to you about this, Maria, but I cannot fathom what my life would have been without her. At the same time, I cannot imagine a future without you. So please tell me how the worst thing that could have happened to me made it possible for the best thing to happen?"

He closed her eyes, as she gently touched his forehead, brushing back his rebel lock of hair.

"You do think too much, Captain! It makes you a brilliant strategist, a wonderfully fascinating man, but it could also be your downfall. I cannot allow that."

"Maria…"

"It is an _impossible_ question."

"Maybe for me, but not for you. What about you? If you met me years ago, would you…"

"Would I what?" she asked, with feigned innocence. Her face betrayed her – it became bright red.

It had been a while since he had done that. He had hit a little sore spot: he had unknowingly stumbled upon one of her well kept secrets.

"Maria?"

"Mmmmm?"

Oh, she could not tell him… could she? Could she, when he had told her so little about his own past, about his life with the woman he once adored so much? She bit her lips. It seemed so… _unfair_ all of a sudden.

"So you _have_ thought about it."

"A few times," she replied, nonchalantly. Well, at least that part was true.

"Tell me…" he coaxed.

He was smiling now, and if there was one thing she was powerless to resist was one of his smiles. She still tried.

"This is really not fair, you know," she grumbled.

"Haven't you ever heard the old saying: "_The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war_…" (2)?" He quoted.

"Yes, but we are not at war."

"No, but you love me."

She sighed, resigned. The man certainly had a point! Ooh, but this could be terribly embarrassing…

"Very well. I have a little confession to make," she swallowed.

"What? Were you lying about not being an ax murderess before you entered the Abbey?"

"No, I was lying when I said that I had never heard of you before I left the Abbey."

"Hah!" He exclaimed.

"What?"

"Fascinating! That certainly explains a thing or two I noticed about you… such as why you pretended to be so bored and aloof whenever I started speaking about the war."

"I was not pretending," she protested. "I… I mean, I… it took me a few weeks to remember, to be sure if you… if you were really _you_." There – the raised eyebrows – the usual sign that he expected her to continue speaking. "I lived in a farm in the middle of nowhere in Tyrol, but still, when you were decorated, it was all people spoke about. Have you any idea how famous you were?"

He grimaced. "You remember those days?"

She nodded.

"Of course I do! I was hardly more than a child, but old enough to understand what was happening in the world. I kept every newspaper article about you. I knew the name of every enemy ship you sank. I knew the name of every U-boat you commanded."

"So that thing about Captain Nemo…"

"Oh, he was _nothing_ to me after I discovered someone like you existed!" She frowned at him. "And please, do try not to look so smug about it. You haven't heard the whole tale yet."

"Then tell me."

"One day, I decided to run away from the farm. I had never done such a thing before, but I wanted to go to town because I heard on the radio you would be there. I was bringing one of the newspapers for you to sign."

"Did I sign it for you?" he asked, incredulously.

Maria smiled forlornly.

"No. I never left. My uncle caught up with me when I was about to board the train, so I never made it. Of course I learned from my mistakes that day, and after that, whenever I run away or disappeared again, I was never caught!"

He was laughing openly now. "And the black sheep of Nonnberg was born! (3) What an irony to think that somehow, I might have been responsible for that!"

"Well, I _did_ come back to haunt you, didn't I?"

"You really didn't know who I was at first?"

She shook her head.

"Shortly after that day, the war was lost. In a small way, my world was turned upside down, just as your was. I was growing up fast, there were other worries. Too much was happening at once. I left for Vienna, to complete my studies at the Progressive School. When I returned, my life became centered in the idea of becoming a nun, so my childlike dreams about dashing sea captains and their heroic deeds were all forgotten. Your name and your photograph in an old newspaper became nothing but a lost memory until the day I was sent back to you. Of course you changed over the years, and when I saw you, I did not recognize you, not at first… Your name sounded so achingly familiar, but still I could not be sure. Not until I saw the box with the old photographs in the attic."

"So when you said I did not look at all like a sea captain…"

"I meant _you_," she shrugged. "You did not look like the vague memory of _my _sea captain - a faded photograph I had once seen in an old newspaper. Does that make any sense at all?"

"It does. Oh yes, my love. It does."

It took all her will power not to jump into his arms again when he was looking at her like that, the intensity in his eyes nearly unbearable.

He was dead serious when he spoke again.

"One month from now, when we are already man and wife, I will remember exactly what you just told me. Wherever we are, I'll find a place like this for us to be alone and I'll be able to do everything I want to do to you right now. Everything. I promise you."

The children's voices were growing stronger. The urge to run to him again became so strong that Maria had to clench her hands into fists and to ground her feet to the earth. She could not do that now – she knew it, he knew it too. The children were much too close.

"Father! Fräulein Maria! Where are you?"

"We are hungry," yelled a voice that was unmistakably Kurt's.

Any moment now, probably in the next second or two, their brief interlude would come to an end. She missed it already, she missed _him_.

"Now, where the devil is my hat?" he asked, looking around them.

"Here." Quickly, she ran a few steps where his hat still lay, after he had carelessly tossed it aside. "You dropped it when I ran to you." Neatly, she placed the fedora in his head, crooking it slightly, so that it gave him that roguish look she adored so much.

Together, they made their way to their children.

* * *

_A/N: (1) The 12__th__ Governess. (2) John Lyly. (3) The 12__th__ Governess._


End file.
